Carved in Stone
by Oreithyia
Summary: Gaara and Temari enjoy a peaceful sunrise shortly after the extraction of the Shukaku. Epilogue to Written in the Dust and stand alone.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or anything associated with it whatsoever. Alas, and woe.

Carved in Stone

Epilogue to Written in the Dust and Stand Alone

"Gaara."

The young man, unusually pale for a citizen of the prosperous desert city and redheaded to boot, his eyes calm and alert, turned to acknowledge the friendly voice from his comfortable perch overseeing the peaceful sands of the dunes.

His sister was treading over the roof towards him, breathing the fresh, crisp morning air of the desert; clean and without taint, and just a hint of dew collected on fragrant desert blossoms. The morning was so quite but for tinkling songs of the early morning birds he could almost hear the susurrations of the fabric of her dress as she walked.

"I can see why you like is so much out here," she said breathing deeply. She was going to have to going looking for some of those blossoms she could scent to get a few clippings of the plant for the greenhouses. She really loved botany for reasons she couldn't explain. The streams made from the melting snow in the distant mountains that were supporting the burgeoning greenery meant the arroyos would have merrily bubbling streams, songbirds, dragonflies, and be so refreshing to drinking after trekking over the shifting dunes.

She looked off of the roof towards glow of the morning sun, warm friendly and golden, illuminating the clouds in a prism of colors and making the dew glitter on the leaves and steams of flowers opening to greet the rays. The playful flights of the signing birds whose songs had heralded the arrival of morning were silhouetted against the brightening sky.

"How was your sleep?" She settled next to him, tucking her legs under herself and leaning against his warm shoulder gently. Gaara had been trying to get used to touch as much as sleeping since the Ichibi left him, finally voicing that he, after so many years of shunning contact, wanted the hugs he saw Temari give Kankuro.

They were odd things hugs, so strange but yet, addictive.

He smiled gently, at the question. Familial small talk was strange, too. It didn't have a strategic purpose; it was just because you could. Because you cared. He had been practicing it a lot with his older siblings ever since he had meet Naruto-kun.

"It's strange. Going to sleep and not being aware of what goes on around you. When you wake up, you want to go see what you've missed."

Temari made a noise of acknowledgement as the breeze coming off of the slowly warming desert sands brushed her flaxen bangs softly across her hitai-ite.

"Strange," she echoed, drawing out the word playfully. "You say that about everything. You think my love of plants is strange!"

"But it is." This was fond bickering, because he was precious to her.

"You didn't say that about Kankuro's face paint!" she chided, a smile in her voice.

"It has historical and cultural significance. He is maintaining cherished village traditions." This was called being deliberately obtuse as part of a battle of wits. He still had no idea why being obtuse was considered witty.

"He is not!" she declared back. "He's just trying to use it to pick up artsy chicks. That and that 'tough guy' speech of his." She giggled. "It still isn't working either."

He laughed one time in response. He blinked. Did he laugh? Or did he just hiccough? No, not a hiccough. He had experienced those for the first time shortly after miss-swallowing a mouthful of a glass of water in the hospital. He found the involuntary gasps most frustrating and Temari and Kankuro's laughter when he tried to talk didn't help. And he did not yet see what was so funny about insuppressible involuntary muscle contractions that resulted in odd noises.

"Gaara!" Temari laughed lightly, astonished. He turned his head to his see his sisters blue eyes sparkling with mischief and bright delight. "Did you just chuckle?"

"Was that a chuckle?" he asked, looking back with blue-green irises of his own. "It wasn't a giggle or a chortle? Are you sure I don't have the hiccoughs again?"

She giggled.

"No, you definitely laughed, Gaara!" she tittered, leaning away from him to shake her head as she gave an unladylike whoop. "Oh, Kankuro is going to be miffed he missed it."

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders to give him a one armed hug as the sun illuminated the graceful shapes of the dunes of the morning desert. It was so serene up here.

Brother and sister watched the day dawn on Sunagakure, without the need for vocal communication, before simultaneously rising. Temari's kimono whirled around her ankles and the ends of Gaara's robes flapped lightly in the pleasantly warm breeze, the sounds the first true breaking of the morning silence.

"Oi!" Kankuro's gruff voice carried over the balcony the other siblings had descended from to enjoy the rare solitude in the bustling to bursting administrative tower of the allies of Hi no Kuni. "You two going to slack all day? The country won't run itself and I'm not doing it all!"

"Aw, grumpy in the mornings," Temari cooed upward the rays of the dawn glinting of her hitai-ite, before swiftly adding, "did the civilian woman at the main desk turn you down again?"

"Oh, right. This from the chick always stalking a certain Fire chuunin who's lazier than all of Suna's slackers put together!"

Gaara smirked almost invisibly as Temari scoffed. "He wishes!"

Kankuro's "yeah, yeah" trailed off as he moved back to let his siblings vault to the balcony. "If there's nothing there than I'm the Mizuhime!"

"Why are you laughing?" Temari challenged her minutely smiling youngest brother, annoyed that her middle brother encouraged that empty gossip just to tease her.

"It's funny. It's even funnier than the hiccoughs."

Temari turned her head away in a mock pout, and felt Gaara pool chakra in his legs to make the jump. She turned to him quickly.

"Hey, Gaara."

He turned to look at his oldest sibling and only sister. She flung her arms around him to give him one of the impromptu hugs she reserved for private moments. She was adamant they remain private. When Kankuro decided to 'be difficult' and ambush hug her on her birthday while she'd been talking to a group of hero-worshiping genin kunoichi, he had been rewarded with her Iron Fan upside his head.

Temari released him from the embrace and turned to face the looming balcony rim.

"Love you little brother."

Gaara paused to let her clear the balcony railing before readying to leap up himself.

"Love you too, Temari."

* * *

AN: Thus concludes the story. Thank you to all of who were willing to read.

A final bit of trivia; the titles of both stories are from the lyrics of By the Sword by Emile Autumn (which I do not own). The song has no relation to the story. I simply thought the phrases had a nice ring to them.

Translations:

Mizuhime – Water Princess


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